Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The rank is equal to the army rank of colonel and air force rank of group captain.
Equivalent ranks worldwide include ship-of-the-line captain (e.g. France, Argentina, Spain), captain of sea and war (e.g. Brazil, Portugal), captain at sea (e.g. Germany, Netherlands) and "captain of the first rank" (Russia).
Etiquette
Any naval officer who commands a ship is addressed by naval custom as "captain" while aboard in command, regardless of their actual rank, even though technically an officer of below the rank of captain is more correctly titled the commanding officer, or C.O. Officers with the rank of captain travelling aboard a vessel they do not command should be addressed by their rank and name (e.g., "Captain Smith"), but they should not be referred to as "the captain" to avoid confusion with the vessel's captain. The naval rank should not be confused with the army, air force, or marine ranks of captain, which all have the NATO code of OF-2.
Commands
Captains with sea commands generally command ships of cruiser size or larger; the more senior the officer, the larger the ship, but ship commanders do not normally hold a higher rank than captain. In the Royal Navy, a captain might command an aircraft carrier, an amphibious assault ship, or the Ice Patrol Ship, while naval aviator and naval flight officer captains in the U.S. Navy command aircraft carriers, large-deck amphibious assault ships, carrier air wings, maritime patrol air wings, and functional and specialized air wings and air groups.
Maritime battle staff commanders of one-star rank (commodores or rear admirals lower half) will normally embark on large capital ships such as aircraft carriers, which will function as the flagship for their strike group or battle group, but a captain will retain command of the actual ship, and assume the title of "flag captain". Even when a senior officer who is in the ship's captain's chain of command is present, all orders are given through the captain.
By country
Belgium
In the Belgian Navy the rank of capitaine de vaisseau or kapitein-ter-zee is the third grade of superior officer, equivalent to colonel in the land forces. Its insignia is made up of four bands. He or she commands a capital ship (cruiser, battleship or aircraft carrier) or a shore establishment. Smaller vessels such as destroyers and frigates are commanded by a kapitein-luitenant.
Canada
In the Royal Canadian Navy, Captain(N) (abbreviated Capt(N); capitaine de vaisseau, abbreviated capv) is a senior officer rank, equal to an army or air force colonel. A captain(N) is senior to a commander, and junior to a commodore.
Typical appointments for captains(N) include:[citation needed]
- Commanding officer of a Canadian Forces base;
- Commanding officer of a large school or research establishment, such as the Canadian Forces Maritime Warfare Centre;
- Commanding officer of a Protecteur-class auxiliary vessel;
- Chief of staff of a formation staff;
- Foreign military attaché.
The rank insignia for a captain(N) is four 1⁄2-inch (1.3 cm) stripes, worn on the cuffs of the service dress jacket, and on slip-ons on other uniforms. On the visor of the service cap is one row of gold oak leaves along the edge. Captains(N) wear the officers' pattern branch cap badge.[citation needed]
The "(N)" is a part of the rank descriptor, and is used in official publications and documents to distinguish a captain(N) from a captain in the army or air force. It is also important to distinguish between the rank of captain(N) and the appointment of captain, meaning the commanding officer of a ship, regardless of his or her rank.
Captains(N) are addressed initially as "Captain" followed by their surname (example: "Captain Bloggins"), thereafter by superiors and peers as "Captain" and by subordinates as "Sir" or "Ma'am". The "(N)" is not part of the spoken address.
Prior to the unification of the Canadian Forces in 1968, rank structure and insignia followed the British pattern.[citation needed]
Estonia
India
Sri Lanka
United Kingdom
United States
In the United States, the O-6 rank of captain exists in four of the uniformed services of the United States: the United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps.
Gallery
- Captain
(Antigua and Barbuda Coast Guard) - Captain
(Royal Australian Navy) - Captain
(Royal Bahamas Defence Force) - Captain
(Bangladesh Navy) - Captain
(Belize Coast Guard) - Captain(N)
(Royal Canadian Navy) - Captain
(Republic of Fiji Navy) - Captain
(Gambian Navy) - Captain
(Ghana Navy) - Captain
(Guyana Coast Guard) - Captain
(Jamaican Coast Guard) - Captain
(Liberian National Coast Guard) - Captain
(Namibian Navy) - Captain
(Royal New Zealand Navy) - Captain
(Nigerian Navy) - Captain
(Papua New Guinea Maritime Element) - Captain
(Philippine Navy) - Captain
(Sierra Leone Navy) - Captain
(South African Navy) - Captain
(Sri Lanka Navy) - Captain
(Tanzania Naval Command) - Captain
(Tongan Maritime Force) - Captain
(Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard) - Captain
(Royal Navy) - Captain
(United States Navy) - Captain
(United States Coast Guard)
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Variants
Captain at sea
Captain at sea is a naval rank corresponding to command of a ship-of-the-line or capital ship.
Germany
Kapitän zur See (German: [kapiˈtɛːns t͡suːɐ̯ ˈzeː] ⓘ, abbreviated KptzS, KZS, or KzS) is a senior officer rank in the German Navy.
| Insignia | Shoulder | Sleeve | Higher/lower rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Imperial German Navy | Kommodore Fregattenkapitän | ||
| Reichsmarine | Kommodore Fregattenkapitän | ||
| Kriegsmarine | Kommodore Fregattenkapitän | ||
| Volksmarine | Konteradmiral Fregattenkapitän | ||
| German Navy | Flottillenadmiral Fregattenkapitän |
Netherlands
In the Royal Netherlands Navy, the rank of kapitein-ter-zee is the third grade of superior officer, equivalent to colonel in the land-forces. His insignia is made up of four bands and he commands a capital ship or a shore establishment (until recently, a kapitein-ter-zee commanded the Onderzeedienst and Mijnendienst, the Netherlands Navy's submarine and mine-laying training establishments).
Smaller vessels such as destroyers and frigates are commanded by a kapitein-luitenant ter zee. Until recently flagships such as Tromp-class frigates were also commanded by a kapitein-ter-zee. Currently, De Zeven Provinciën-class frigates are commanded by a kapitein-luitenant-ter-zee.
Gallery
Captain lieutenant
Captain of sea and war (Portuguese: capitão de mar e guerra) is a rank in a small number of Portuguese-speaking navies, notably those of Portugal and Brazil.
The term captain of sea and war, like the modern rank of ship-of-the-line captain in the navies of France, Italy, and Spain, has deep historic roots. Although the rank was first formally established in the 17th century, the expression had been sometimes been used in the Portuguese and Spanish (as Capitán de Mar y Guerra) armadas of the 16th century. But generally, in the 16th and early 17th centuries, the captain of a Portuguese man-of-war was simply called a capitão, while the commander of a fleet was termed capitão-mor, literally "captain-major".
During the 16th century, the term almirante was used in Portugal to designate the second in command of a fleet. Only during the 18th century would it come to designate the fleet commander - an admiral in the more modern sense. But during the latter half of the 17th century, the term "captain of sea and war" came to designate the commander of a larger man-of-war - the ship of the line that began evolving at that time. When that happened, the Portuguese Navy, as other navies, came to use the term capitão de fragata and capitão-tenente, literally "frigate captain" and "captain-lieutenant", to designate the commanders of smaller warships. When Brazil gained her independence from Portugal in 1822, its navy adopted the Portuguese rank denominations, which both countries still use.
Corvette captain
Frigate captain
Rank captain
Captain of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd class are ranks used by the Russian Navy and a number of former communist states. Within NATO forces, the ranks are rated as OF-5, 4 and 3, respectively.
| NATO code | OF-5 | OF-4 | OF-3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Captain 1st rank | Captain 2nd rank | Captain 3rd rank | |
| English equivalent | Captain | Commander | Lieutenant commander |
Ship-of-the-line captain
Ship-of-the-line-captain (French: capitaine de vaisseau; German: Linienschiffskapitän (in the Austro-Hungarian navy); Italian: capitano di vascello; Spanish: capitán de navío; Croatian: kapetan bojnog broda) is a rank that appears in several navies. The name of the rank derives from the fact the rank corresponded to command of a warship of the largest class, the ship-of-the-line, as opposed to smaller types (corvettes and frigates). It is normally above the rank of frigate captain.
France
Capitaine de vaisseau is a rank in the French Navy, corresponding to that of colonel in the French Army. They usually command the navy's most important ships.
Gallery
- Capitaine de vaisseau
(Navy of Ivory Coast) - Capitaine de vaisseau
(Royal Moroccan Navy)
